GREEN BAY, Wis. — Donald Trump made a memorable entrance as he descended from his Boeing 757, traversed a rain-soaked tarmac, and, after an amusing struggle to find the handle, climbed into a white garbage truck featuring his name prominently.
The former president, who rose to fame as a reality television personality celebrated for his flair, aimed to highlight comments made by President Joe Biden the previous day, which seemed to belittle Trump’s supporters. Trump has since leveraged this statement to criticize his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump inquired while draped in an orange and yellow safety vest layered over a crisp white dress shirt, complete with a red tie. “This is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
The former president, alongside other Republicans, faced backlash due to remarks from a comedian at the weekend Trump rally who referred disparagingly to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Seizing on Biden’s comment from a late Wednesday call, which noted, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Trump confronted the controversy head-on.
Biden later attempted to clarify his statement, asserting that he meant to address Trump’s harmful portrayal of Latinos, insisting it was indefensible. However, by then, the damage was already done.
Upon arriving in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for a rally later that evening, Trump entered the garbage truck and engaged with reporters, peering out the window, reminiscent of his earlier public engagement at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
While attempting to dissociate himself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke ignited the uproar, Trump refrained from outright repudiating it. He also asserted that he felt no need to apologize to Puerto Rican constituents.
“I don’t know anything about the comedian,” Trump remarked. “I don’t know who he is. I’ve never seen him. I heard he made a statement, but it was a statement that he made. He’s a comedian, what can I tell you? I know nothing about him.”
A spokesperson for Trump conveyed that the joke did not represent the president’s position, yet Trump himself has not publicly addressed it directly.
“I love Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico loves me,” Trump declared from within the confines of the garbage truck before concluding his brief encounter with the media. He added, “I hope you enjoyed this garbage truck. Thank you very much.”
As he took to the stage shortly afterward, he still sported the vibrant orange vest, further cementing the unusual yet memorable pivot of his campaign event.